The influence of civil society on Ukrainian anti-corruption policy after the Maidan

• Main Authors: Blatt Felix, Schlaufer Caroline
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sciendo 2021-01-01
• Series: Central European Journal of Public Policy
• Subjects: anti-corruption policy; advocacy coalition framework; civil society; ukraine
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.2478/cejpp-2021-0001

This article examines the influence of civil society on Ukrainian anti-corruption policy after the Maidan in 2014. Drawing on the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), we hypothesise that the Maidan events led to a redistribution of formal legal authority in the anti-corruption policy subsystem, opened access to policy venues for civil society actors, and increased leverage of international organisations to push for strict reforms. We test these expectations with a systematic content analysis of primary documents and semi-structured interviews. Findings show that changes in the formal legal authority to make policy decisions led to anti-corruption policy change. The newly adopted policies were largely influenced by civil society actors who had increased venue access after the Maidan. In addition, civil society advocated for strict anti-corruption reforms through international organisation.